Kaila's Story
by The Cute One
Summary: A re posting from another fanfic site. Kaila's life as an orphan has been riddled with curious happenings...but what happens when she's given a chance to change her life forever? Read on and review, rated M for later chapters. Eventual OC/Harry...I own nothing but the plot!
1. Chapter 1

The large village stood dark and abandoned; no Christmas shopper or caroler walked the streets. The fresh blanket of snow finished the town's image as the perfect mountain getaway. Cars were parked in the driveways, leaving the main street deserted.

The light trees in the windows of the houses cast brilliant colors onto the surrounding sidewalks. Everyone was asleep, children dozing peacefully at the thought of Christmas presents. Except one little girl.

Two cars parked in the driveway of one of the larger homes, with a single lantern blazed outside the home. The light kept a vigil over the street, waiting for the inevitable.

Inside the house sat a little girl, waiting in the hallway outside a private bedroom. Quiet whispers could be heard within the room, but the girl did not listen. She unconsciously fiddled with her doll, combing her fingers through the black yarn of the doll's hair. The child, dressed in her finest dress, waited anxiously to be allowed in the room. She wished it would be over soon, if just to see the third person in the room.

Kaila thought of how lonely she was, and how lonely she will be for the rest of her life. She longed to see her mother, to see the happy grin spread across her mother's face just seeing her daughter laugh and giggle. The small things would be missed the most; the long hours walking and hiking the nearby lake, naps by the fireside. Her thoughts travelled to the trip they had been planning for the summer. They would be visiting the seaside, where they would gorge on cotton candy and frozen bananas and shop till they dropped.

That was all tangible until a few months ago, when doctors told her that her mother had contracted a brain tumor. At first Kaila didn't worry, she just assumed things would go back to normal. But they didn't, not even close. Her mother would spend all her time in chemo, if not days at a rehabilitation center.

Her soft hair fell out slowly, the healthy glow of her cheeks faded to something short of a death mask. The doctors were worried; the disease was spreading much quicker than they anticipated. By August, the cancer had infected her brain so thoroughly her mother was incapable of walking Kaila to the bus on her first day of kindergarten.

For a child of five, this was the worst Christmas present she could have hoped for. Since Thanksgiving the doctor and several nurses had been checking in on her mother's condition around the clock. A permanent sitter was hired by the doctor for Kaila, as Kaila and her mother lived alone. Her mother's inheritance had made Kaila's life rather cushy, but the last of the fortune had been spent on her mother's costly treatments.

By the time the whispers stopped behind the door to the room, nearly all the yarn had been pulled off the doll. Footsteps approached the door, and a tall man with spectacles opened the door. The face was almost expressionless, except for the soft sadness behind his eyes. Kaila immediately felt wetness in her eyes as she sat up and walked inside the room.

A blazing fire roared in the far left corner, giving the room its only source of light. The doctor stood beside the ornately carved bed, her mother's lawyer and long-time friend stood on the other side.

In the bed lay Kaila's mother, the only sign of life was the sheets rising and falling with every weak breath. Tears fell effortlessly off of Kaila's cheeks. To see her strong, proud mother be reduced to a living skeleton had been gnawing at the back of her conscious for the past few months, but never had Kaila seen her mother so close to death.

Ever so slowly, Kaila approached her mother's side, scared to see what the loving face had become. Her mother was deathly pale. The last minutes of her life seemed to have come.

Kaila's vision was blurred from the torrential downpour of tears falling from her face. She snaked her small hand down to her mother's, shivering at the touch of cold, almost lifeless skin. Kaila was smart; she knew the moment was close. It haunted the room with greedy fingers, itching to take Kaila's mother from her. She squeezed her hand, holding on to the last seconds of her mother's life.

Her chest rose once, shuddered for a moment, and then moved no more. The doctor held back his own tears as he checked her pulse and recorded the time of death.

Rachel Harrington died Christmas Eve, 1985

Kaila Harrington was lead out of the room, the doctor and the lawyer already discussing plans for Kaila's future. She felt so utterly lost, such a painful loss for the small girl. The trio left the house, with all of Kaila's belongings in the back of the lawyer's Subaru. She would never see the comfortable log home again… nor would she feel her mother's heartfelt hugs.

An ambulance pulled up to the home. Kaila's shell shocked mind just went with the flow, barely noticing the cloth-covered body the paramedics loaded into the back of the ambulance. The lawyer and the doctor parted ways as the ambulance drove away, no lights or siren wailing.

Kaila curled up in her car seat, clutching desperately to her doll and sobbed her heart out.

Outside the home, the lantern's candle blew out.

She felt utterly alone.

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**So the first of a small fic, I'm not sure how long, but we'll see where the story will go, now, won't we?**

**I'd appreciate reviews! Thanks**


	2. Chapter 2

Shrill shouts of frantic children emanated from the Thompson Home for Girls, the sounds of the girls mingled with the nearby freeway. Children from the ages of 2 to 17 slept, studied, and lived in the small building. Many called it a fine institution, others called it home.

Everyone was excited for the last day of school, eagerly picking their best clothes and preparing for the day. The halls were crowded, as girls ran back and forth from their rooms to the extremely small bathrooms. The noise woke up any toddlers still sleeping, while it agitated older girls still studying for their finals.

In a room not far off of the main hall, Kaila silently waited for the buses to arrive. Completely ready, Kaila smirked at the hectic sounds of the rest of the girls.

_Ugh, today's going to suck, _she contemplated. The last day of the year always made her upset. _Another summer stuck with girls that never act their own age. I swear, I act more mature than most of the high-schoolers in this stupid program. _Kaila punched her pillow she was leaning on into a more comfortable shape.

Kaila, through what she thought was no fault of her own, had been friendless since entering the system after that fateful Christmas Eve night. After her mother's funeral, Kaila was placed in a orphanage in the to a quaint home in the mountains. Then to an orphanage near plains. Then to one in the desert. And then, finally, to the one where she lived now.

Kaila had not been able to stay in any one home for more than a year. Peculiar events would get her into trouble and send her to a different orphanage. The lack of time spent at each home meant she didn't have enough time to make friends, though children tended to avoid her after they learned of her past in previous homes.

At her first home, a boy had stuck worms in her bed for a fun prank. The next day, after seeing the boy eating in the dining room, a six year old Kaila promptly imagined his bowl of spaghetti turning into a bowl of worms. When the boy found out midway through his dinner what he was really eating, he accused Kaila of putting the worms there, while chucking up the rest of his wiggly meal. The incident left the caretakers no other choice but to transfer Kaila elsewhere.

In another home, a girl took and broke Kaila's donated 7th birthday present. So angry with the girl, Kaila whispered to a flock of birds to dawn the girl's new down jacket with their droppings. A sniggering Kaila looked on at the hilarious scene, but only to be spotted by a rather harsh nun. Again, Kaila was sent to a new home.

Reviewing her past achievements, Kaila thought _Ha, the system has no idea what to do with me. They'll have to send me to Florida or somewhere next. _

She pondered her last words, and frowned to the empty room. _Ah, who am I kidding? I didn't mean to put those worms there, or make those birds do what they did, I was just mad. I may be weird, but I'm not cruel._

And it was true; Kaila had done good things with her odd happenings. Once she found a baby rabbit with a broken leg, hobbling slowly in the snow one winter. Out of compassion, Kaila took the poor creature inside, putting it in a warm box with a carrot or two. To her amazement the rabbit's leg had seemed to heal completely overnight, with no help or medicine of any kind. It brought tears of joy to Kaila to think _I was the one who did that._

Kaila's previous frown reversed itself. _See world, I'm not evil. I just REALLY hate the homes._ She believed she had a right to, too. Many of the girls and boys she had met in her new life had been given to homes by mother's who could not, or would not care for their children. _Lousy dead-beats,_ Kaila thought, _MY mother gave up everything for me. Even her life. _

Immediate regret rushed into her heart, the embarrasing feeling of tears threatened to take over. _Oh, how can I be so mean? Lots of kids are in the same position as me._

Over the intercom, one of the workers announced the buses arrival. Grabbing her backpack, she snatched a glimpse of herself in the mirror and whipped the red tear tracks from her face. She smiled a bit.

She had the strange feeling her life was going to take an interesting turn.

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**Review please. I'd love to hear from you guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

Don Jacobson nonchalantly walked along the hall, a steaming cup of coffee and at least 80 different case files under his arm. He passed various cubicles filled with people working at a smooth pace. The knowledge that the Foster/Orphan Placement Department was the most lax yet most productive sector in the building brought a large smile to his face. A tall woman with long auburn hair and violently red pumps approached Don from his left, pointing at the files.

"Good Morning, Mr. Jacobson. Half of the committee is out today, so finishing those cases is going to take twice as long." she said in a taunting sing-song voice.

She irritated him. "Morning Delilah. I thought of the problem in advance. It's the first day of summer for many of the council members that have kids. They phoned in, no problem. As for the cases," he faux-smiled down at the bulging Manila envelopes, "I think the remaining members and I can work through these before 3."

A little affronted at his cool reply, Delilah veered away from her boss and headed back to her work.

Don reached the conference room at the end of the hall just as the hour hand of the clock above the door reached 9.

_Great, the annoying bitch of a secretary made me late to my own meeting._

Slightly fuming, Don opened the door and walked in. The room was well light, and the temperature already rising to June norms. He sat down at the head of the table; his favorite seat.

"Well, let's get done with this fat stack of cases so we can all go home." His voice was commanding, falsely cheery, and his smile oh-so-fake; the council immediately reached for the first files of the day.

Every member had sweat on their brows as the sun bathed the conference room in afternoon heat. Fans had been propped up to keep the room cool, but they failed miserably; people were concentrating more on following the moving head of the fan than listening to the conversation.

"...and I think we're done with little Tommy Ridgefield. Anyone think we've missed anything?" Don waited for a response. When none came, he plodded on. "Okay, down to the last file."

At the mention that the work was almost over, several of the members perked up their heads in attention. But old Donald at the end was still helplessly asleep. Don never noticed, as he picked up the last folder. "The last kid is Kaila Harrington. Age 10. Brown hair, blue eyes. Cute kid by any measure." He passed around a small photo of Kaila at Six Flags.

An elderly woman to Don's right piped up," Yes, she's a special case. A woman, one of her caretakers is here to speak about the girl."

Suddenly perking up at the change in pace, Don replied, "Let's bring the poor woman in! She's probably been waiting for hours to speak with us." He smiled inwardly, as he was never tired of being waited on for his seniority and power.

A homely woman walked in, and took a seat to Don's immediate left. "Welcome, Mrs...?"

"Mrs. Rodgers, sir. I've come to talk about Kaila.

"Yes, of course. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Don Jacobson. Please, acquaint yourself with the rest of the council."

With the introductions out of the way, Don got to business. "So, Mrs. Rodgers, what brings you here about the poor girl?"

Mrs. Rodgers fidgeted under Don's gaze, then spoke, but slowly at first. "Well, let's see. I've been working at Thompson's Home for Girls for the past 8 years, and I've never in all my time met a girl like Kaila. As you know from her report, Kaila was left an orphan at the age of 5 on Christmas Eve. Terribly sad, a mother with a brain tumor and no other relatives? The poor girl had nowhere else to go, so she was put into the system.

Now, as I understand it, Kaila has been placed in no less than 4 other homes, lasting no more than a year in each. The girl has had...difficulty...making and keeping friends with the other girls at the home. And the poor child's a magnet to trouble-making. She's just an apple in a basket of oranges."

"In what way?" Don inquired.

Mrs. Rodgers paused, considering if she should continue, then finally went on.

"Kaila's had odd things happen around her. At first I thought she was just ornery, but I called the other orphanages and they'd had similar experiences. And what was most interesting was that the odd things kept getting odder and odder until it got to a point where they needed to transfer the girl."

"What has occurred around her? Asked a man across from her.

"Oh, just things like spaghetti turning into worms, broken presents being avenged for...just preposterous things of that nature. Obviously I thought the reports were exaggerated or some had been lying, but...now, under the circumstances..."Mrs. Rodgers's voice trailed off.

The elderly woman spoke first. "Are you meaning to say that something has occurred at Thompson's?"

Mrs. Rodgers steadily looked at the members of the council. "Yes, that's exactly right."

"And what did she do this time?"

"Well, like I said before, she doesn't get along well with other children...especially boys. A few days ago, on her last day of school, two boys where ruffling her feathers out on the playground. A girl who overheard what the pair was saying said they were bulling her over being an orphan. When they started throwing slander against her mother, Kaila just exploded. The next thing those boys knew they were riddled with gravel the size of peas. Those boys had to go to the hospital, the hospital! The gravel hit them hard enough to give them scares for life…

But think about it; how is a little girl gunna throw rocks so hard as to give them over 30 stitches each? Can't explain it. And that, I believe, is the straw that breaks the camel's back."

Don suddenly realized the situation. "So now you want to transfer the girl like all the others?"

Mrs. Rodger's faced darkened. "Now don't you go and play the blame-game with me, Mr. Jacobson. You've never seen boys so scared that they won't even talk about how Kaila hurt them. This girl is a special case, and I'd rather not send her somewhere else, but there's no way in hell she's staying at Thompson's. Don't think our insurance would allow it."

Don was fed up with this lady, and through almost clenched teeth, asked, "Well then, what do you suggest we do with her, Mrs. Rodgers?"

"I've called and asked homes in a 200 mile radius of area whether they would take Kaila, and none of them will. Seems her history has preceded her. The only option I could come up with is sending her out of the area, far away… as in the Exchange program. Nothing fancy, any old English speaking country would do. Just as long as she's out of my hair."

Don thought it over. This woman was very much scared for the other girls in the home, that much was evident in the tine of her voice. But the stories? Those seemed so unrealistic, but the way Mrs. Rodgers explained them...he saw no other option than to accept her plea. But he had to ask.

"And one more thing, where exactly did you have in mind?"


	4. Chapter 4

Kaila along with Mrs. Rodgers and several aids sat in the small meeting area of the home. She sat perched on her chair, tempting the chair to spill her over if not for Kaila's amazing sense of balance. She looked like a hawk eyeing her prey. Mrs. Rodger's squirmed under the intense glare, as did many of those brave enough to look at Kaila's eyes directly.

England?

That was preposterous; she couldn't go to a foreign country. The first word out her mouth was, "NO!"

NO as in no to leaving the US, no to leaving her home state, no to leaving her freaking time zone! Kaila was in shock, no wonder things had been mysteriously quiet after her latest "incident". They were plotting to chuck her across the pond.

Kaila flew off her chair and started shouting, "So this is the punishment I get? You're sending me out of the country? I didn't even touch those boys, however idiotic they may be; I never laid a finger on them, _ever_!" Her cheeks were flushed, anger oozed out of her very pores. Kaila started to pace the room as she continued her rampage.

"If you want to get rid of me, then so be it. Send me to another damn orphanage to be someone else's problem. It's obvious you don't want me around here anymore! But, please, find it in your cold, blackened, prudey old biddy heart to send me anywhere, _anywhere _but there." She shot a venomous glance at Mrs. Rodgers.

Despite the shocked faces of those prudey old biddies, Mrs. Rodgers held her ground. "That attitude, missy, is the reason no one in this god damn state will take you, let alone adopt you. So drop with the scare tactics and take your medicine like the good girl the world needs you to be. You're going, and that's final. No arguing," Kaila opened her mouth to spit out a retort, "and especially no BUTS!"

Kaila closed her mouth with a definitive snap. She just stood there, gazing upon the fuming woman with utter disgust. This woman had taken her in when all others wouldn't, yet within six months was kicking her out like a pile of garbage...And insulting her inadaptability to be adopted. Kaila could go as far as to say she held some sort of reverence for Rodgers at one point, but none of that was evident in her glare. She was practically shooting lasers out her eyes.

After several minutes of an awkward silence, Kaila stopped pacing the room. Thoughts were running rampant in her mind. Could she run away?

She was definitely cunning and sneaky enough to pull that off, but she was only ten. Soon to be eleven, but that's beside the point. Though she would never admit it to herself, Kaila had become some-what institutionalized. As much as she hated the system, she still relied on it for everything she had. Kaila was torn. Her independent spirit could be given new wings at the chance, but the calculated risks involved could be too much for her to handle.

As if Mrs. Rodgers knew of Kaila's internal turmoil, she added, "There's no way out of this. An aid will be watching you for the next 24 hours non-stop. Pack you're things, you leave tomorrow afternoon."

Kaila had only enough time to gape at the woman before she was lead none-to-kindly out of the conference room.

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**Sorry for the short chapter, I promise the next few will be much longer! Thanks for reading, keep on keeping on! (and it wouldn't hurt to review! )**


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